Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Welcome......To Odd Acres

[Finallygotit]

Wow that is a lot of rock! JB

Now that the foreseeable concrete work is done around here (we'll see) we're turning our affection to decorative rock.

We're probably going to need another 20 - 30 ton of rock to finish the areas in front of the house.

 

[donnie]

Are you moving this rock? Or are you paying someone to do it?
I hope you are paying someone. my body hurts just looking at the rock to be moved and spread.

 

[Finallygotit]

Are you moving this rock? Or are you paying someone to do it?
I hope you are paying someone. my body hurts just looking at the rock to be moved and spread.

We paid to have this stuff spread; doing that job would kill me. Although, when the guy came to drop off the rock, he was tipping and dropping the stone as he drove the dump truck. This was obviously not his first rodeo.

He has been placing all of the river rock by hand. Again, some things are worth the cost. And this guy was really reasonable and honest.

 

[tweidman]

Looks good

 

[Finallygotit]

Looks good

Gracias!

 

[sawduststeve]

Evening Dan,
Your front yard is coming on a treat, it's looking good/low maintenance,great work fella. We have the same trouble as JB, after 4years of house reno all the gravel has been pushed into the ground, I doubt I'll need as much as either of you to replace it though.
Noticed the hat on the cactus and various baubles scattered about, we've just returned from 4 days at the christmas market in Brussels, I think I've overdosed on already .
Anyhoo, merry christmas to you and yours.

Regards
Steve.

 

[Willy Radio81]

Looks Like Aa 50tys coke or Pepsi store cooler have a Pepsi one myself !

 

[sawduststeve]

Looks Like Aa 50tys coke or Pepsi store cooler have a Pepsi one myself !

Err. Have I missed something


Like the office party
Hope your head feels better this morning Willy.

Happy Xmas

 

[jblnut]

Here's a quick picture of some of the finished product. It was getting late and was raining all day. This was from the front door looking to the street.

Looks good !! If you need more rock come on up. We have plenty of free range, hormone free, all natural rocks you can have !! I'll even let you pick them yourself fresh out of the fields this spring

 

[Finallygotit]

Err. Have I missed something


Like the office party
Hope your head feels better this morning Willy.

Happy Xmas

Hi Steve,

I think Willy Radio81 was referring to this.



This is a R-J Hires Root Beer cooler. And I do plan on restoring it sometime in the future.

 

[Finallygotit]

Looks good !! If you need more rock come on up. We have plenty of free range, hormone free, all natural rocks you can have !! I'll even let you pick them yourself fresh out of the fields this spring

Hmmmmmm..... free range, hormone free, all natural..... let me think on that for a bit.....

 

[Finallygotit]

Well, things were kinda busy here at Odd Acres over the holiday.

Holiday Project #1

"The Shed"



My wife and I decided to give this ugly duckling some TLC. I started with ripping off all of the old rotted wood. My wife then painting all of the trim and the new wood pieces with Kilz and exterior paint.



Once that was done, we started in on the color.



I also removed all of the door hardware, hit them with the rotary wire brush to remove layers of paint, primed and repainted them in black

So now we have this. I think we added a bit of character to this once lowly building.





We also finished up the interior with the re-purposing of the original kitchen cabinets and a new countertop.










More to come!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Dan, busy is right.

Looking great.

 

[Finallygotit]

Holiday Project #2

"The Mini Lathe"

There is an intermediate drive shaft on this lathe which is in the bracket in blue below.



That drive shaft spun on static bronze bushings which needed to be constantly oiled which also meant that it spit the excess onto anything near by, including (mostly) the wall. Even with oil, the casting would get surprisingly very warm. The clearance between the shaft and the bushings was also excessive. I decided it was time to upgrade this portion of the lathe.

I needed to establish some semblance of flat and square. I was able to indicate the lower and upper bore straight (with a little shimming) and started to fly cut the outer faces.



Then I pressed out the bushings.



Reset the casting in the mill and re-indicated the bore to bore out for the new double sealed needle bearings to be installed.



The bores turned out great.



Next was to take the rotary wire brush to the casting to clean it up, prime it and paint it.





Bearings



Pressed in



I also bought new shaft material which I cut to length and finished on the lathe prior to disassembly to replace all three shafts in this assembly. I installed new hardware, cleaned up some of the existing hardware which now leaves me with this.







This is soooo smooth now. The excess heat is no longer there and it just looks good. I plan to repaint the entire mini lathe but it's going to probably be one piece at a time.

More to come; "Project #3"

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan, busy is right.

Looking great.

Thanks Steve and thanks for stopping by!

 

[C_F]

Wow, the shed turned out great! And so did project #2, looks like it's a ton better than it was originally.

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, that pulley setup must make a wonderful noise -- or maybe that's lack of noise. It must be gratifying to put your machinery to work fixing your machinery.

Is that a weather station on the end of the shed?

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan, that pulley setup must make a wonderful noise -- or maybe that's lack of noise. It must be gratifying to put your machinery to work fixing your machinery.

Is that a weather station on the end of the shed?

Hi Bob, it's about time you posted here!

I am very happy to have the equipment I have so that I can continue to use the skills I have from jobs past. I am very fortunate.

And yes, that is a weather station on the end of the shed. It's a Davis Instruments Vantage Pro 2 system. I am very happy with it and it can be accessed through the internet.

 

[Finallygotit]

Wow, the shed turned out great! And so did project #2, looks like it's a ton better than it was originally.

Thanks CF!

 

[sawduststeve]

Apologies first to Willy, err.. it appears I'm the one who missed something , please excuse the slur on your alcoholic intake, my bad.

Evening Dan,

The little red shed looks great, we've got to redo one of ours, when the weather finally gets better, I might run the colours past the OH but I think she's got a beach hut colour scheme in mind.

The work you've done on the mini lathe is nothing short of fantastic, older working machines brought up to date and finished like that is a work of art.

Happy new year to you and yours.
Steve.

 

[Johnny Generic]

That's some pretty big *** lizards you have crawling up the back of that shed. you are so lucky not to have to mow grass or rake leaves.

 

[bj383ss]

Dan that is really cool you can repair your machines using your machines. The new and improved shed looks great. All the best to you this year.

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

Holiday Project #3

"Landscaping"

We (and our contractor) finished phase 2 of our landscaping project. This was the installation of the dry river bed, plum colored decorative rock and white decorative rock on the driveway. The river bed is seen to the left and the plum rock is seen on the right.

We also added a parking pad for guests to the right in the picture.

Phase three of the landscaping will be the addition of more plum rock covering the dirt between the drive and the house.

I also had Holiday Project #4 that week which was "vehicle maintenance" on the wife's mini van which consisted of a brake job and oil and filter change.

"EDIT": I forgot to mention that now having a milling machine at home, I can resurface brake rotors. I didn't take pictures while I was doing it because I was covered in muck. But here is a link to show the principle.

More to come!

 

[Finallygotit]

Apologies first to Willy, err.. it appears I'm the one who missed something , please excuse the slur on your alcoholic intake, my bad.

Evening Dan,

The little red shed looks great, we've got to redo one of ours, when the weather finally gets better, I might run the colours past the OH but I think she's got a beach hut colour scheme in mind.

The work you've done on the mini lathe is nothing short of fantastic, older working machines brought up to date and finished like that is a work of art.

Happy new year to you and yours.
Steve.

Thanks Steve and that is very kind of you to say that! I try to improve on the equipment that I have and make it better running than when new. I'm odd that way.

That's some pretty big *** lizards you have crawling up the back of that shed. you are so lucky not to have to mow grass or rake leaves.

Or shoveling snow. or deal with sub-zero temps, or...........

Thanks for stopping by!

Dan that is really cool you can repair your machines using your machines. The new and improved shed looks great. All the best to you this year.

Bret

Hi Bret and thanks for the kind words. All the best to you and your family!

 

[Brian R]

Landscaping - excellent work - looks great.

 

[Finallygotit]

Thanks Brian!

I'm anxious to get to "phase 3" on the landscaping which fills in the spots near the font of the house with the plum rock. That will make things look soooo much better IMHO.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[ambenz]

I remember this thread when you started it at the beginning of last year.
Somehow, I lost it or never subscribed.
I really liked what you did to the back patio in the beginning.
Came across the thread on the new post button and was surprised to see, I am still subscribed!
So I am scratching my head why I haven't been seeing your updates.
Anyway, love all the upgrades and what you are doing to the place, very cool.
One thing I thought while seeing some new posts is that I wouldn't want to be in the newly painted shed in August!
I wonder if you have a thermometer in there and what the hottest you seen it in there?
Summer in that climate is like winter here, you're always in doors in conditioned spaces.
Nice to see the garage has a Mini-split.
Keep up the good work Dan.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Finallygotit

Top job, the pics say it all..

 

[Finallygotit]

I remember this thread when you started it at the beginning of last year.
Somehow, I lost it or never subscribed.
I really liked what you did to the back patio in the beginning.
Came across the thread on the new post button and was surprised to see, I am still subscribed!
So I am scratching my head why I haven't been seeing your updates.
Anyway, love all the upgrades and what you are doing to the place, very cool.
One thing I thought while seeing some new posts is that I wouldn't want to be in the newly painted shed in August!
I wonder if you have a thermometer in there and what the hottest you seen it in there?
Summer in that climate is like winter here, you're always in doors in conditioned spaces.
Nice to see the garage has a Mini-split.
Keep up the good work Dan.

Thanks for stopping by and the kind words. I do have a thermometer in the shed; it's built into the solar controller. I will be watching is this year though. This past summer wasn't too hot in there. Although with the darker paint I'm sure that will change. Maybe I should hook up a motor to that roof turbine.

Finallygotit

Top job, the pics say it all..

Thanks 1/2!!

 

[zmotorsports]

Dan, the place is looking great.

I completely forgot that you had scored a Bridgeport a while back. I saw the picture you posted in Justin's thread about your toolbox and I spotted a BP in the background. I had to come over here and check it out. Sure enough you have a nice BP in the shop.

Gain, the place is looking great and made quite the transition.

 

[Finallygotit]

Hi Mike! Thanks for stopping by and the kind words.

I looooooove my Bridgeport. I will be installing the electrical in the garage this weekend (YAY!!). I also have a small, and I mean small, project to finish up for the model train museum here in town. After that, it's time to rebuild the head on the BP. I want that puppy to run like it was new. Now, not so much, kinda sounds like a coffee grinder at low speeds.

 

[C_F]

Have you had any big rain yet, to see if your front yard is draining properly?

 

[Finallygotit]

Have you had any big rain yet, to see if your front yard is draining properly?

Hi CF, no, no big rain yet. Lots of little easy rains. Maybe 0.15 inches at a time but that's it. Probably won't get any substantial rain until monsoon season and that starts around the middle of June.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[StormcrowAz]

Hello Dan,

Just finished going through your adventures at Odd Acres. Good read and top notch work all around! I was born in Tucson and spent a good chunk of my childhood there. My folks reside in Oro Valley and I also have family in Tucson regular and over in Bear Canyon. To this day my favorite drink of choice is a lemon/strawberry Eegee’s.

Really like the Bridgeport and lathe combo, something I’ve always thought would be nice to have. Even more envious of the experience/skill it takes to operate them. One of these days…

It is also somewhat humbling – when I finish a project and think it’s cool…I see the type of work you, and many others here, do and it feels like I am but a small man walking amongst giants. Thank you for your contributions here and visiting over at Ernie’s Place. Keep up the good work!

 

[Finallygotit]

Hello Todd and I'm happy you survived reading through this diatribe.

I am sincerely humbled by your comments. WOW!

While I don't even remotely consider myself a giant here on GJ, I like to think I can try to share some of the knowledge I have so others can benefit. Hell, I aspire to others here so "I" can be better. I guess that's what this venue is truly for.

Thanks again for stopping in!

Cheers!

 

[Finallygotit]

I'm baaaaaack!

So the latest project here at Odd Acres was to add a bit of whimsy to the shed. The inspiration for this was a property in southern Wisconsin where the owners had multiple barns and each one had this on them.

I first modeled the shed in SolidWorks then I modeled the pieces on the east facing wall; which BTW faces the street. I forwarded the models and drawings to a local vendor and had the steel sheet stock laser cut. Once cut and deburred, I had the pieces powder coated.

Today was spent hanging the pieces on the wall. My wife and I REALLY like the way this turned out. Now we really smile when we step out of out back door.

The only thing left is to touch up the stainless hardware to blend in with the powder coating.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Dan, that brought a smile to my face..

 

[jblnut]

Love the whimsy on the shed !! There is a farm near us with faces on everything. Barns, sheds, trees and even the silos have smiles on them. Definitely something fun to add character to the place !!

I may have missed it in here somewhere but were you able to get internet into the shop yet ?

 

[bj383ss]

Very Cool. You are Emoji friendly! Millennials will be taking selfies with it.

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

Dan, that brought a smile to my face..

Thanks for stopping by Steve!!

Love the whimsy on the shed !! There is a farm near us with faces on everything. Barns, sheds, trees and even the silos have smiles on them. Definitely something fun to add character to the place !!

I may have missed it in here somewhere but were you able to get internet into the shop yet ?

Almost ready to finish the wiring. I had to finish putting electrical in the Cobra garage where one of the Nanostations will live.

Very Cool. You are Emoji friendly! Millennials will be taking selfies with it.

Bret

Uh-oh, what have I done??